Catholic Globalism in the United States: Notes on Conversion and Culture

Inspired by Norget, Napolitano, and Mayblin's suggestion that anthropologists attend more closely to the mechanisms of Catholicism's worldwide spread, this article juxtaposes two organizations—the Holy Childhood Association and Unbound—to explore "paganism," conversion, and its l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kaell, Hillary (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2019]
In: Exchange
Year: 2019, Volume: 48, Issue: 3, Pages: 280-290
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CD Christianity and Culture
KBQ North America
KDB Roman Catholic Church
NBE Anthropology
Further subjects:B Paganism
B Social Teaching
B Missions
B Conversion
B Culture
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:Inspired by Norget, Napolitano, and Mayblin's suggestion that anthropologists attend more closely to the mechanisms of Catholicism's worldwide spread, this article juxtaposes two organizations—the Holy Childhood Association and Unbound—to explore "paganism," conversion, and its legacy among U.S. laypeople. In the process, it makes two major points. The first concerns the recourse to "culture" as a rhetorical and ideational hinge connecting the singularity of Christian universalism and new valuations of local multiplicity. The second focuses on the U.S. Catholic relationship to institutional structures of missionary work, which they both associate with positive attributes of a vibrant society, while also being much more critical than their Protestant counterparts of their own Church's role abroad. It ends by noting how Unbound and its supporters contend with ongoing inequalities by cultivating an imagined global parity where Catholic people choose to send their "gifts" to each other.
ISSN:1572-543X
Contains:Enthalten in: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-12341531